Military Figure, Politician. He served as Prime Minister of Turkey from 1960 to 1961, and as the 4th President of Turkey from 1961 to 1966. Born into a military family, he attended the Kuleli military high school in Istanbul and the Turkish Military College, graduating in 1929, serving in the military for 45 years. During World War I, he participated in the Battle of Çanakkale in Dardanelles at Gallipoli as a lieutenant with the First Battery of the 12th Artillery Regiment in 1915 and received the War Medal. In 1917 he fought at the Palestine and Syria fronts, becoming a prisoner of war of the British on September 19, 1918 during his command of the 5th Battery of the 41st Regiment. While a prisoner of war, he suffered malaria. He was a prisoner of war in Egypt until October 6, 1920. He became a captain on September 1, 1922 and advanced ranks regularly through the years. After being released, he participated in all the western front campaigns in the Turkish War of Independence between 1920 and 1923. He was awarded the Medal of Independence by the first Parliament for his combat service in the Final Offensive. In 1958 Cemal Gursel became the commander of Turkish ground forces as a four-star general, but took an early retirement on May 3, 1960 after his demanded political reforms were refused. On May 27, 1960, a nearly bloodless coup d'état occurred by high-ranking army officers and without the participation or leadership of Gürsel. After the coup, he headed the National Unity Committee that was formed by the military. On May 28th , he formed the new government as he assumed the duties of the head of the state and the government, the Minister of Defense as well as the Chief of Staff. He was elected as the fourth President of the Republic in 1961 and played an important role in the preparation of a new Constitution and return back to the democracy after the coup. He survived an attempted assassination, yet was wounded during the ordeal. Shortly before his death, he had a stroke and eventually became comatose. At this point, his presidency was terminated on March 28, 1966 by the Parliament, and he was succeeded by Cevdet Sunay. He died six months later. In 1927, he married Melahat Hanım who served as the First Lady of Turkey. The couple had a son and an adopted daughter. A documentary film was made about him.